Vissel Kobe and Kawasaki Frontale will battle for three points in a J1 League matchday 12 clash on Wednesday (April 16th). The game will be played at the Noevir Stadium.
The home side are coming into the game on the back of a 1-0 away win against Tokyo Verdy over the weekend. Koya Yuruki's goal six minutes into the second half proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Frontale, meanwhile, shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw away to Shimizu S-Pulse. They went behind to Koya Kitagawa's 62nd-minute penalty while Yuki Yamamoto equalized midway through the second half.
The draw saw them drop to third spot in the standings, having garnered 17 points from 10 games. Vissel Kobe are 14th with 12 points to their name.
Vissel Kobe are two-time defending champions and had hopes of making it a three-peat in the league. However, they have made a poor start to their title defense, having alternated between a win and a loss across their last six games. Fans of the club will be keen for this streak to end, having won their most recent game.
Kawasaki Frontale, for their part, are one of the sides looking to dethrone their hosts. A sequence of three successive draws saw Shigetoshi Hasebe's side drop from top spot in the table.
We are backing the two sides to share the spoils in a low-scoring stalemate.
Prediction: Vissel Kobe 1-1 Kawasaki Frontale
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 1.5 goals